Samsung apologizes to Chinese consumers for smartphone issues after being criticized by state media

Samsung has apologized to Chinese consumers after China’s state broadcaster singled the company out in a half-an-hour program late Monday, criticizing its Galaxy S and Note smartphones for crashing as many as 30 times a day.

In a statement on its Chinese website — translated by TNW — Samsung says: “We welcome the scrutiny by the media. As a result of management problems, we have brought inconveniences to consumers, and we offer our sincere apologies.”

The Korean company will be repairing the Galaxy S3 and Note 2 smartphones free of charge, and will refund those who have already paid to fix their devices. It will also offer a free replacement for the handsets that still cannot function properly even after being sent for repair twice.

Samsung is not the first foreign smartphone manufacturer to apologize to Chinese consumers. In April this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook apologized for the way the company dealt with repair and warranty enquiries for the iPhone 4 and 4s.